If I Could Just Go Back
by tmaslayme
Summary: Based on season nine spoilers. My take on what happens to Nathan and how he gets rescued.


Hey guys! This is just a quick one shot that I wrote based on some spoilers I'm sure we've all heard about from season 9. The idea came to me after I read KTxx's one shot Spent Too Long in my Own Head that's based off the same spoilers. I hope you guys all like this and let em know what you think! Also, for those of you who are waiting for me to post Dirty Little Secret, just be patient because hopefully I'll have it up by the end of the week!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or anything related to it.

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><p>If I Could Just Go Back<p>

Sitting. That's all he's known for the past however long it's been since those bastards knocked him out after leaving the bar in Seattle, where he was scouting a potential client. He had no idea where he was anymore, what day it was, or the time. Sitting, strapped to the uncomfortable plastic chair in the dark, cold room Nathan's mind was constantly wandering. Flashbacks of his life with the love of his life, thoughts about what his two beautiful children may be up to at the same moment, but most of all his entire mind filled with regret.

The last time they saw each other they were fighting. He came home from one of his many scouting trips only to find out Haley let his murderer father move into their home without talking to him about it. His anger seemed trivial now, he would give anything to go back to their last moments together and change what happened.

_This trip was supposed to be a long one and despite arguing, Haley insisted on seeing him off. They walked through the airport in a stony silence, the usually over affectionate couple not even holding hands. They stopped and faced each other when they reached the point at which Haley was no longer allowed to continue. She leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek._

_"Have a safe trip. Please call me when you land," she whispered softly and pleaded with her eyes to get him to forgive her._

_Nathan remained stoic and glanced everywhere but into her deep brown eyes. When she clasped her hand around his own tightly he finally looked at her and saw the sadness reflecting in the chocolate orbs. He sighed and gently removed her hand. "I don't know what you want from me, Haley."_

_"I want you to forgive me, Nathan. I've told you how sorry I am so many times and I realize how wrong I was to not talk to you first. I just need you to say its okay."_

_The raven haired man sighed. "I can't do that right now."_

_Tears began welling in Haley's eyes but she nodded in understanding. "I love you, Nathan."_

_Her husband didn't respond and backed away from his petite wife. "I know," was all he said before he turned his back and walked to security._

He didn't even tell her he loved her. So caught up in his petty anger that he couldn't tell his wife that he loved her more than anything. God, what he wouldn't give to see Haley, Jamie, and Lydia again.

Nathan tried his hardest to gain control of his running emotions as he heard a door creak up. He had quickly learned that whenever that happened he was in for a beating. His kidnapper was a burly man with some sort of Northern European accent. He locked his eyes with the cool gray ones in front of him and gritted his teeth. The only good thing about getting the shit kicked out of him was that it reminded him he was still actually alive.

The man held up a picture in front of Nathan's face and he had to squint to see it in the darkness. His breath caught in his throat when he made out his wife's form as she crossed a street that was no doubt somewhere in Tree Hill. He gritted his teeth and squirmed against his restraints to try to shut up his abductor's maniacal laughing.

"Your wife is fucking fine," he goaded and only laughed harder when Nathan got angrier. "Maybe I'll make a move after I kill you. There's nothing a chick wants more than someone to save her," he flashed an evil smile.

Clenching his fists, Nathan leaned as close to the other man's face as he could. "You go anywhere near her, I'll fucking rip you apart. That's a promise."

Out of the corner of his eye Nathan saw the man's fist swing back in preparation of the punch he knew was to come. Unlike all the other time's he had been beaten, this time Nathan kept his eyes wide open and locked with the gray ones. He was going to get out of here and return home to Haley and his kids, no matter what he had to go through to accomplish that.

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><p>Three weeks. That's how long it's been since she's seen or heard from her was supposed to be home from Seattle six days ago, but when she went to the airport to pick him up he was nowhere to be seen. She reported him missing but the police said there wasn't much they could do with absolutely no leads.<p>

Lucas came to Tree Hill two days ago and took Lydia back to New Zealand with him so she wouldn't be affected by everything that was going on. Unfortunately since Jamie was older and much more aware of what was going on, he couldn't just be shipped off to another continent until his dad was home. Haley knew that Jamie was scared. The last time he saw his parents together they weren't speaking and now his father was missing and his mom would start crying at the drop of a hat, she didn't know what to say to make it better for him though, especially when she couldn't even keep her own emotions in check.

When Haley heard the clacking of heels against the wood floors she lifted her head from her hands. "Hey Brooke, what are you doing here?"

The pretty brunette smiled at her best friend sadly and sat on the couch next to her. She wrapped an arm around her and allowed Haley to rest her head on her shoulder. "I came to see how you're doing. Have you heard anything today?"

Haley shook her head silently, figuring if she used her voice the flood gates would open. "I'm not sure how much longer I can take this, Brooke. It's killing me not knowing where he is and seeing Jamie so worried about me, and I hate that I had to call Lucas to come take my daughter away because I couldn't deal with taking care of her on top of everything else."

"Hey. Do not beat yourself up over Lydia. If she knew what was going on, there's no doubt in my mind that she would understand."

"Nathan has to be okay," Haley cried softly and shook her head dejectedly.

"He's gonna come home, Hales. I just know it."

Haley tried her best to believe the words her friend spoke, but after six days of no news about her husband's whereabouts she was beginning to lose her faith and that's what scared her the most.

"Is my god son here? I haven't seen him in a couple days."

"He's at Chuck's. I dropped him off last night, I figured it might be good for him to get away from the house for a little while," Haley shrugged and couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for technically sending her other child away too.

"How's he doing?"

"He's worried. About me and about where Nathan is. God, I feel like the worst mother in the world. I'm too wrapped up in my own emotions that I can't even take care of my kids."

"Don't do that to yourself, Haley. Everyone understands how much you're dealing with right now and no one is judging you for not being able to handle it all."

The blonde shrugged and allowed her tears to flow freely down her face. "I would give anything to go back in time and change what happened between us before he left for Seattle."

"Nathan is going to come home safe and sound and you will have your chance to forget everything that happened before his trip. You just have to believe that."

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><p>Punch after punch he took, Nathan focused on the faces of his family. They were the only ones keeping him from giving up completely through this whole nightmare.<p>

He focused on the way Lydia's face would light up every time she saw him, how Jamie wanted to be just like him when he was older, or the way Haley would sigh peacefully and curl up next to him as close as possible every night before going to bed. The little things like that were keeping him going, but Nathan lost his memories when a deafening bang echoed through the small dank room.

He opened his eyes when the punches ceased and saw his father standing of his kidnapper's bleeding body. He could tell the guy wasn't dead but he didn't really care right now. Nathan felt his father cutting through the duct tape wrapped tightly around his hands and feet and attempted to stand up as soon as they were free.

He stumbled forward weakly at first but managed to gain his balance after a second. "How did you find me?" he gazed at his father in shock.

"It doesn't matter. We have to get out of here, Nathan. We're going home."

Despite the pain in his bloodied face, a smile broke onto Nathan's face and he allowed his father to guide him out of what he discovered to be a basement of a small shack just outside Tree Hill. As he made his way up the stairs, Nathan glanced back and saw the battered body of his kidnapper as he bled out on the cement floor.

They father and son made it to Dan's car and once he was situated in the passenger's seat, Nathan locked eyes with his father. "Thank you. I don't know how I can repay you."

"Forgive your wife for letting me come live with you guys," Dan suggested with a small smile as he backed out of the driveway.

"Trust me, I forgave her the second I woke up in that basement. How long have I been missing?"

"When did you get abducted?"

"My first night in Seattle. My knocked me out while I was walking back to my hotel from the bar," Nathan explained as he tried to clean up his face using his dirty clothes.

"Then you've been missing for about three weeks."

Nathan sighed and thought about how much that must have affected his wife and kids. He shook his head disbelievingly and started asking everything he could think of so he could gain a greater insight about what happened during the time he was missing.

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><p>"You don't have to stay here with me, Brooke. I know you have a family to take care of."<p>

"Yeah, well my best friend needs me, so it's a good thing Julian is capable of taking care of the twins for a little while."

Haley sent Brooke a grateful smile and turned her head in confusion when she heard the front door open. She wasn't expecting anyone else and looked to the entrance of the room as both women waited for whoever it was to come into view.

When their eyes locked Haley's breath caught in her throat. There was no way he was actually standing in their family room. She blinked a couple times to make sure she wasn't going crazy and when he was still standing there, Haley let a sob escape through her lips and Nathan took a step closer to her. He only managed to get a few steps farther before Haley bolted across the room and threw herself into his arms; her body wracking as she cried into his chest and held onto him like her life depended on it.

Nathan returned the gesture and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as possible without hurting her. Brooke smiled tearfully, overjoyed that he was finally home and patted his back as she walked by the reunited couple.

"Welcome home, Nathan. I think I'll leave you guys alone now. Call me tomorrow, Hales," she said and closed the front door as she left her friends' mansion.

Dan still stood off to the side admiring Nathan and Haley together. He smiled softly as he caught some of the words they were briefly exchanging and cleared his throat to garner their attention for a minute. "I guess I'll follow Brooke's lead and leave you two alone for awhile."

As Dan turned his back and began marching up the staircase, Nathan's unusually soft voice halted him. "Thank you, Dad. I'll never be able to repay you for this."

"You're my son, Nathan. I did it because I love you," he explained while shaking his head at his son's mention of repaying like he was owed something.

Nathan didn't know how to respond. He watched Dan finish walking up the stairs and immediately walked Haley over to the couch she had occupied minutes earlier. After another few minutes, Haley had managed to calm herself down and locked her gaze with Nathan's.

"I love you so much, Nathan. I never want to lose you again."

He kissed her temple and squeezed her even tighter. "I love you too, Haley. I promise I'm never going anywhere again, and for the record I'm so sorry for how I behaved before I left."

Haley shook her head. "That doesn't matter anymore, Nathan. All that matters is that you're home and we don't ever have to think about this again.

Nathan nodded and rested his chin a top Haley's head. She had never spoken truer words. All he wanted to do was live the rest of his life with woman beside him and raise their children together and that's exactly what he was going to do. They'd pick Jamie up from Chuck's and Lucas would bring Lydia back and the family of four would have another shot at their happily ever after.


End file.
